Helicity sensitive terahertz radiation detection by field effect transistors

C. Drexler (1) , Nina Diakonova (2) , P. Olbrich (1) , J. Karch (1) , M. Schafberger (1) , K. Karpierz (3) , Yu Mityagin (4) , Maria Lifshits (2, 5) , Frederic Teppe (2) , Oleg Klimenko (2) , Y. M. Meziani (6) , Wojciech Knap (2) , S. D. Ganichev (1)

1 UR - Universität Regensburg
2 L2C - Laboratoire Charles Coulomb
3 Warsaw University of Technology [Warsaw]
4 LPI RAS - P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences [Moscow]
5 A.F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute
6 Universidad de Salamanca

Terahertz light helicity sensitive photoresponse in GaAs/AlGaAs high electron mobility transistors. The helicity dependent detection mechanism is interpreted as an interference of plasma oscillations in the channel of the field-effect-transistors (generalized Dyakonov-Shur model). The observed helicity dependent photoresponse is by several orders of magnitude higher than any earlier reported one. Also, linear polarization sensitive photoresponse was registered by the same transistors. The results provide the basis for a new sensitive, all-electric, room-temperature, and fast (better than 1 ns) characterisation of all polarization parameters (Stokes parameters) of terahertz radiation. It paves the way towards terahertz ellipsometry and polarization sensitive imaging based on plasma effects in field-effect-transistors.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]; Instrumentations et Détecteurs [physics.ins-det]; Electronique

C. Drexler, Nina Diakonova, P. Olbrich, J. Karch, M. Schafberger, et al.. Helicity sensitive terahertz radiation detection by field effect transistors. Journal of Applied Physics, 2012, 111 (12), pp.124504. ⟨10.1063/1.4729043⟩. ⟨hal-00748688⟩